The centre of the Milky Way (detail)

An infrared NACO image of a ~ 2 x 2 arcsec 2 area, centred on the position of the compact radio source "SgrA*" at the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy; it is marked by a small cross. The image was obtained in the K s -band at wavelength 2.1 µm in May 2002 and the angular resolution (image sharpness) is about 0.060 arcsec. At about the same time, the star designated "S2" came within 0.015 arcsec of the radio source. At the distance of the Milky Way Center, 1 arcsec on the sky corresponds to 46 light-days; the bar is 20 light-days long (0.44 arcsec).